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LATEST SCIENCES AND RESEARCH
READ | Researchers discover a second ‘key’ that makes the new coronavirus infectious
As the number of confirmed global SARS-CoV-2 infections approaches 1.7 million, scientists are still struggling to understand what makes the virus so effective and transmissible.
But a new study may have the answer: The virus is using a second protein, called neuropilin-1, to facilitate entry into human cells.
The first receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), was discovered during the early stages of the pandemic, and scientists came to understand how the virus used it to bind to the surface of cells. An enzyme called transmembrane serine protease type II (TMPRSS2) was also found to be crucial for gaining entry.
The findings of the researchers, from the Technical University of Munich in Germany and the University of Helsinki in Finland, were published in Science.
“To effectively infect human cells, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, can use a receptor called neuropilin-1, which is very abundant in many human tissues, including the respiratory tract, blood vessels and neurons. “stated a press release from the University of Helsinki.
“The starting point of our study was the question of why SARS-CoV, a coronavirus that caused a much smaller outbreak in 2003, and SARS-CoV-2, spread so differently even if they use the same main ACE2 receptor, “said University of Helsinki virologist Ravi Ojha.
LATEST CORONAVIRUS CASES
SA case update:
The latest number of confirmed cases is 716,759.
According to the latest update, 19,008 deaths have been recorded in the country.
There have been 646,721 recoveries.
So far, more than 4.7 million tests have been performed, and 11,464 new tests have been reported.
Global Cases Update:
For the latest global data, follow this interactive map from Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.
As of late Monday night, positive cases worldwide were nearly 43.38 million, while deaths were closer to 1.16 million.
The United States had the highest number of cases in the world, more than 8.69 million, as well as the highest number of deaths, more than 225,000.
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SA
Last News:
READ | Miners Face Increased Tuberculosis Threat As SA Concentrates Resources On Fighting Covid-19
Vama Jele’s heart skipped a beat every time she heard that another migrant miner living in South Africa had died of tuberculosis due to skipping treatment under the blockade. In just four months, it happened 60 times.
When Covid-19 shut down South Africa’s mines, workers from Jele’s homeland, eSwatini, and other neighboring nations rushed home, disrupting tuberculosis care for thousands of high-risk miners. illness due to weakened lungs after years of working underground.
Jele, the general secretary of a migrant mining workers association at eSwatini, said more lives could now be lost to tuberculosis as overburdened health systems prioritize Covid-19.
“There is such a strong focus on Covid-19 that everyone is forgetting about tuberculosis and other non-communicable diseases, and this contributes to more deaths,” he added.
Patients, who did not consistently take the full cycle of medication for several months, could spread drug-resistant TB, which was TB that was resistant to common drugs, according to the World Bank.
South Africa, home to the world’s third-largest mining industry, attracts some 45,000 miners from neighboring countries such as Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe, who make up about 10% of the workforce.
It was both a booster for the economy and a tuberculosis hot spot due to dusty and closed working conditions underground, said Cleopas Sibanda, program manager for the Wits Health Consortium, a health research unit in Johannesburg.
According to the World Bank, between 2,500 and 3,000 cases of tuberculosis were reported per 100,000 miners in southern Africa, a rate ten times higher than what the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies as an epidemic emergency.
“Miners are three times more likely to get tuberculosis than the average person,” said Sibanda, a doctor.
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE REST OF THE WORLD
Last News:
READ | China is testing the 5 million residents of a city in Xinjiang after a positive case of Covid-19
China began testing the 5 million residents of a major city for Covid-19 on Sunday after identifying a positive test the day before, state media reported.
Health authorities announced the plan to carry out mass tests in the city of Kashgar after a 17-year-old garment worker tested positive for the virus during a routine test on Saturday, the state news agency Xinhua reported. It is not clear how it became infected, Xinhua said.
More than 2.84 million people have already been tested, Reuters reported early Monday morning, adding that the remaining tests would be completed on Tuesday.
By the end of Sunday 137 people, all asymptomatic, had tested positive, state broadcaster CGTN reported. Xinhua said all the new cases are linked to another garment factory where the teenager’s parents worked, according to Reuters.
The new infections reported in Kashgar mark the largest outbreak seen in China since April 1, according to Reuters.
Kashgar is located in the Xinjiang region in western China, which is one of the most heavily policed parts of the country.
READ | US nursing home workers say they were kept in the dark when Covid-19 engulfed their facilities
Nursing homes have been particularly hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, and workers at those facilities have been forced to make some difficult professional and personal decisions.
While nursing homes only make up 1% of the US population, according to the Associated Press, they account for a significantly higher percentage of Covid-19 infections compared to the general population.
As of this writing, there are 8.3 million people infected with the coronavirus in the US, and more than 222,000 have died.
According to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, at least 252,939 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in nursing homes across the country, with an additional 143,848 suspected cases. More than 59,600 deaths have been recorded since the week of October 4, the date of the most recent available data.
Tamara Konetzka, a University of Chicago public health professor who has been researching the impact of COVID-19 on nursing homes, told Insider that at least 80% of all nursing homes have had at least one case.
Konetzka said that a lot of progress has been made since the start of the pandemic, and researchers have now learned that after the facility is closed, staff is one of the key ways the virus enters nursing homes.
HEALTH TIPS (as recommended by the NICD and WHO)
• Keep your physical distance: stay at least one meter from someone who is coughing or sneezing
• Practice frequent hand washing, especially after direct contact with sick people or their surroundings.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth, as your hands touch many surfaces and could transmit the virus.
• Practice respiratory hygiene: Cover your mouth with a bent elbow or a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Remember to dispose of the tissue immediately after use.
Image Credit: Getty Images
